1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exercise equipment and, more specifically, to weight-training apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Weight training with barbells and dumbbells is rapidly gaining popularity because leisure time and awareness of the importance of exercise is increasing, and because sports like powerlifting and body building are receiving an increasing amount of publicity in television and popular media. One of the most basic weight training exercises is the bench press, in which the trainee lies on his back on a flat, horizontal bench and lifts a barbell from a position adjacent his chest to one in which it is held at arm's length above him. A considerable amount of weight can be lifted in this exercise, and it is common for a person who has trained at this exercise for a few months to be capable of bench-pressing a poundage equal to his body weight. Many persons can bench press over 200 pounds and, while it is not common, bench presses of over 400 pounds are being performed in many gyms and weight rooms.
Often an enthusiastic trainee will bench press to the point of exhaustion and total muscular failure, or will attempt to bench press an amount of weight at the very limit of, or even beyond, his present abilities. In such a case, the danger of the trainee dropping the weighted barbell upon his upper torso is evident. This can cause a crushing injury or, if the barbell lands on the trainee's neck, can cause strangulation or obstruction of blood flow to the brain. A less evident but highly significant danger of the bench press results from the common tendency of a trainee to hold his breath while lifting a heavy weight. This causes what is known as a Valsalva Effect, in which increased intrathoracic pressure hinders blood flow between the brain and heart, causing the trainee to black out. In such a case, even if the trainee had proceeded cautiously, taking care not to become totally fatigued or to attempt a lift beyond his capability, he would, of course, drop the barbell upon himself on becoming unconscious. And, since he would be unconscious, he would be unable to call out for help.
To bench press safely, many trainees have a partner stand at the head of the bench ready to assist if the trainee can no longer support the barbell. However, many persons train alone by choice or necessity, and training alone may become more common as more people invest in home gym equipment such as weight benches and weight sets, rather than paying to train in a public gym. While such a trainee may be able to cry for help to a family member in another room if he is conscious and able to perceive that he can no longer support the barbell, if he blacks out due to the Valsalva Effect this option is no longer his. Even in public gymnasiums, trainees have died or become seriously injured when they became trapped with a barbell resting on their necks, cutting off blood flow to the brain or suffocating them. These types of injuries occur when a trainee has lost consciousness in one area of the gym and thus is unable to attract the attention of persons in other areas of the gym by crying out for assistance or gesturing.
The increasing number of weight trainees who practice the bench press need a protective device to guard them against injuries. Obviously, a passive device is needed because of the possibility of becoming unconscious. However, the natural tendencies to panic upon sensing danger and to become light-headed during extreme physical exertion also necessitate a passive safety device. To ensure that such a device would in fact be used by a trainee, it must not interfere with his movement or comfort while he performs his exercise. Ideally, a safety device would make it impossible for the trainee to use his equipment unless the safety device was presently operable. And, it would be highly advantageous for a device to prevent use of equipment by unauthorized or unsupervised persons. For example, persons who have weight sets at home and also have small children need a means to prevent the children from injuring themselves by attempting to imitate the trainee during unsupervised play. It is also desirable for the gym owner or coach concerned with the unauthorized use of weight training equipment to have at his disposal means for preventing its use.
Prior art devices have not successfully protected a trainee during the bench press in a passive manner, and in a manner which will not interfere with his movement while performing the exercise. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,570 to Reis discloses a device which interferes with a trainee's freedom of movement, in that the trainee will be unable to complete a full downward movement of the barbell without the device obstructing the movement before it is completed. The device also obstructs inward movement of the arms and shoulder joint. Safety devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,249,726 to Faust and 4,256,301 to Goyette depend upon a trainee being fully conscious and coherent, and able to operate a foot-controlled device. Obviously, these devices are useless for an unconscious trainee, or one who, due to fatigue, panic, or lack of knowledge, is not in the clear state of mind necessary to operate a foot control on a safety device.
The prior art devices in these patents are less than optimal since the bench upon which they are installed can be used without the devices being operable. Thus, they allow a trainee to ignore the safety device and simply not use it. Furthermore, prior art devices do not include means for preventing undesired use of the equipment by unauthorized or unsupervised persons.